


Short and Sweet

by poland



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-02-20
Packaged: 2018-05-22 00:41:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6064269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poland/pseuds/poland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Short and spontaneous stand-alone fics based on the relationship between Emil and Lalli. Feel free to request scenarios or AUs!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Short and Sweet

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you Jayden for the prompt!!

When the duo had uncovered a goldmine of old world items in the attic space of their latest abandoned house, Emil thought that this would be a good time to both show off his education to his new friend and also help him learn more about their history himself. There were only a few books that Emil found and handed to Lalli, who only seemed to be interested in sniffing the musty air. With each new find, Emil would pull him by the hand with said object in his hand, explaining its name and use to the scout.

Lalli simply blinked or made a face every time. Emil frowned as he looked away again and again. Didn’t he realize this kind of information was _important_?

After attempting to explain to his companion how important it was to old timey people to prepare food with their stereos, only for his lecture to fall on deaf ears, Emil went back to forcefully opening the lock on yet another trunk. Upon opening the lid, a stale and sour smell emanated from the innards, filling the air around him so heavily he immediately had to draw back. As musty and moldy as the house smelled by itself, this was an amplified smell and not so much unpleasant as it was overpowering. Through squinting eyes, Emil peered at the contents before pulling some from their container.

One was a photo album. Houses with pictures made his heart sink – he didn’t want to look at any people he knew were now long gone. This was inevitable, though, as the cover itself held a photo. Emil was no stranger to photo technology, but the quality of this particular print was very yellowed and grainy – at least the parts that weren’t faded into oblivion. He didn’t look long.

A lot of the other objects he didn’t recognize but he didn’t worry about it much. If he didn’t know them? It probably wasn’t necessary to. Picking up rectangular bricks with buttons and screens, sorting through small and rolling cylinders that rattled as the rolled around the bottom, he sifted through quickly. No books, nothing that looked important enough to take and question. He tried not to jump as another arm extended into his view, picking up a boxy piece of equipment Emil hadn’t really given much thought to.

“Oh, does that one interest you?” Emil asked, watching Lalli turn the cube-like…something-or-other in his hands; a pile of books placed on an overturned table’s thick leg. “That…err, well that one is–” 

Lalli cut him off with a few words, though Emil of course couldn’t understand them. Instead of continuing, he watched his friend hold it up to his face in different ways, examining it. He was honestly amused by how Lalli was treating the object, like he was trying to figure it out.

He’d previously squatted to go through the trunk, but now Emil stood and took the interesting thing from his friend. In reality, he wasn’t honestly sure of what it was, but he was sure he could figure it out. He was educated, after all. Lalli’s grasp on it was tight, but didn’t offer a lot of resistance, though he looked irritated at his prize being removed from his hands. Emil patted him on the shoulder with his other hand, using the other to hold up the object in question.

At first glance it was quite odd-looking, but after a second he sort of recognized what it was. It had a circular lens on the front, making his conclusion much more obvious, though he’d never seen one that looked so small before. The only thing that made him question his conclusion was the elongated slit at the bottom. Once he turned it over and saw the small pane of glass on the back, he was pretty sure of what he was looking at.

He chuckled before showing it off to Lalli again. “They used to call this thing a CD. It’s a sort of music device. See, the music comes out here.” He pointed to the slit in the front. Lalli was staring at Emil showed off his find, peering at him as he did and leaning towards it, appearing suspicious. “And it plays a certain song. I. Hmm, I think you turn it on right here.”

He found a button to press, not expecting anything to happen once he hit it, but instead was startled by a dim but fast light that flashed at Lalli twice before blinking brightly. Lalli immediately groaned and rubbed his eyes quickly while Emil stood stock still, frozen in surprise. What kind of music player is meant to blind someone?

Snapping out of it and trying to hide the quiver in his voice, he grabbed his friend’s shoulders, offending object in his hand. “Lalli! Lalli, are you alright!”

He answered with a slight “ _mrr_ ” noise, but still kept his hands to his eyes. God, this was embarrassing, Emil thought. Not only had he been wrong, he’d also perhaps blinded his friend in the process.

Suddenly, a small mechanical noise filled the air and he felt Lalli tense under his hands that instinctively tightened. Both were completely still while it continued. Emil had no idea where it was coming from until he felt an item slip near his hand and heard it hit the floor.

Not moving, he looked over to see what had just happened and he felt Lalli’s head turn to do the same. The slit in the front of the device had spit out a small white square. Emil finally let go of his friend and stared at the contraption still in his hand before bending over to gingerly pick up the newly produced item. At first it appeared to just be a white square. He could feel the white filmy texture even through his gloves. Turning it over, he inhaled in recognition.

On the other side was a very fuzzy and spotty image, but it was clearly a close up of Lalli’s face. A squinting eye, the tip and front of his upturned nose. It was instantly recognizable. As it fully dawned on him, he spun to shove it in Lalli’s face.

“Camera! It’s some kind of camera, Lalli! That’s you, see?”

Hands finally removed from his eyes, Lalli stared at his picture, obscured by large white smudges where the inner workings of the camera’s film had been damaged. He took it in his hands and held it for a second before dropping it and turning around to be interested in something else.

Emil sighed, looking as the thin square fluttered to the ground. What on earth would it take for this guy to be interested in knowing something truly meaningful? It was probably time they moved on from the attic and looked in another room for something actually valuable.

...Although, if this strange and small camera was actually still usable, it wouldn’t hurt to keep it, right? He decided that it might prove to be useful somewhere down the road. At the very least, it could be entertaining.

“Lalli.” Emil said and the mage recognized his name. “Let’s move to another room.”

Lalli blinked back but scurried down the small step-ladder that had led them to their current location. Before Emil followed suit, he figured there was no need to waste the picture either, picking it up and gingerly slipping it into his pocket before following his friend.


End file.
